Internet Protection Help!

Just got a new laptop today and need total coverage. (First thing i did was get rid of norton... crap!)

Ive been searching the forums and found some decent programs, I especially like the way Bit defender looks

But i just dont understand the difference between bitdefender 9 standard and bitdefender antispyware 9. From what i can tell, the latter is obviously an anti spyware, and the former is antivirus.

So, do i need both? Am i going to need several programs to cover all of my needs? I would like not to spend more than 30-40 bux on internet protection.

Help please!
Donka.

 

The best way to protect yourself is to not do anything stupid while online (download programs with adware, open e-mail attachments from people you don't know, etc).

I personally run Windows Live OneCare. It's a decent all-in-one program and you can usually get a decent deal on it. Plus you can install it on up to 3 computers at once.

 

I think I read last week that they dropped the price of OneCare to $20. Keeping in mind that it's a license for up to 3 PCs, it's a pretty good deal, considering Norton/MacAfee are >$40 for a single PC usually.
.
You can d/l a 90-day trial here (link is on the left of that page).

 

Zone alarm is pretty good.
Trend Micro Anti Spyware
Norton 10 Corp.
Those are the ones I use.
I only load Norton and start ZoneAlarm & Trend when going into questionable sites.

 

Antivirus programs block virus's and possibly some other threats. Antispyware programs block spyware and possibly other threats (though usually not virus's). You should get at least one for each category; either a free program of the internet of a paid one depending on whether you need the protection or whether your willing to spend lots of money. Read http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=61129 and http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=62240
to figure out which are the best to use.

 

I HIGHLY recommend some form of spyware protection. No matter what sites you visit, you will come in contact with adware/cookies. Sometimes they do more than just track visits to that website. Plus, the world is not nice and people are not good. More than likely (ESPECIALLY if you're using P2P software like Limewire) you will contract some spyware. Don't take chances. You can find lots of good free solutions (AdAware, Spybot Search and Destroy) or go for a paid version like Webroot Spysweeper. The paid versions are typically better at removal than the freebies, but all should do the trick on cookies and Temp Int Files. Running regular scans or an on access scanner keeps your computer clean and happy.

For virus protection you should go for a paid version if you want the best protection. Bit Defender is a good program, which I haven't used but comes highly recommended. Also to consider are NOD32 or Kaspersky AV. For free you can get either Avast! (which I have tried and liked) or AVG.

 

Thanks a lot guys! I purchased Bit defender 9 for antivirus, and love it... It runs very low resource, and has some nice/simple features.

AdAware should do it for antispy, (thanks ttupa) ive heard of it before but never actually used it.

Thanks again all

 

You might also want to try Windows Defender. It does an excellent job and has some nice program control features.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

 

all you need:
avast
zonealarm
ad-aware se
spybot
firefox

you be good